Turnover among Filipino nurses in Ministry of Health hospitals in Saudi Arabia: causes and recommendations for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Nurse turnover is a critical challenge for healthcare organizations as it results in a decreasing nurse/patient ratio and increasing costs.

AIM

Identify factors influencing the termination of Filipino nurses in Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals and record nurse recommendations to improve retention.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

METHODS

Data was gathered from a convenience sample of Filipino nurses with previous experience in MOH hospitals in Saudi Arabia who attended recruitment interviews at the Saudi employment office in Manila.

RESULTS

The sample included 124 nurses. Major turnover factors included low salary (18.3%), low nurse/patient ratio (15%), end of contract (14.5%), discrimination (13.5%), and bad accommodations (9%). Suggested areas of improvement included financial motivations (34%), administration support (25%), quality of life (25%), and work environment (16%).

CONCLUSION

Managing nurse turnover can be implemented on the organizational as well as at MOH levels. The recommendations given by the participants provide direct targets to improve retention.

LIMITATIONS

With convenience sampling, the sample is probably not representative of the Filipino nursing population.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None.